OK, to the poster who said to take the naptime mat away, this is not always a possibility. I understand that some kids give up their naps, but that's not my problem. In the state that I live in, a rest/nap time is legally required for kids that are under the age of 6 if they are in care for more than 5 hours a day. I don't tell my kids that they have to sleep, but they do have to rest. It just so happens that ALL of my dcks fall asleep so that tells me that they need the nap. Also, I think that the quiet place, like a mat for example, is necessary in order for a "quiet time" to happen. When was the last time that you tried to get a 3 year old to play quietly while all of the other kids were sleeping? Besides, it's really not fair to let one kid skip rest time while every other kid has a nap time. Plain and simple, kids need time daily to unwind, even if they don't want to sleep. And providers need time to unwind as well, and that's impossible to do if you are trying to keep one child quiet enough so as to not wake up all of the other sleeping kids.

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